Thursday, March 12, 2009

California, Alameda = Screwed

Thu, Mar 12, 2009 at 10:20 AM

Okay, if you live along California's coast, or worse, the island of Alameda, you're officially screwed. That's the conclusion of a wide-ranging, state sponsored study on global warming and the accompanying rise in seal levels from the Oakland-based Pacific Institute. The latest models show that sea levels are expected to rise by more than five feet this century. That essentially means Armageddon for our economy. And ground zero is on the coast or near San Francisco Bay. A scary map on the front page of today's Chron shows that Alameda will be especially hard hit - most of it will be underwater. The study makes it clear that we not only need to greatly curtail greenhouse gas emissions to avoid an epic catastrophe, but we better build some giant seawalls too.